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‘Dispatch’ article defamed patriot groups

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The Dispatch.

The Dispatchowes all conservatives a very big apology. Being a member of a “
patriot” group is not extreme nor hateful (“Center: Number of radical groups cut,”Dispatcharticle, Wednesday). Like false accusations of racism, the next
worse thing to unfounded claims of hate is the ignorant accusation.

The article lumping “patriot” groups and hate groups into the same pot was a disgusting example
of the dying art of journalism. Allowing the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center define what a
conservative group was the cherry on the cake.

Believing in patriotism and the Constitution is not hate. It is not wrong. Taking this crass and
groundless accusation as fact is barely better than actual hate.

The newspaper and reporter should do their jobs. Be objective, even if the newspaper and/or
reporter have a liberal viewpoint.

I am not a member of the tea party or a patriot group, but I have many friends who are. And my
84-year-old mother is. She is kind and understanding, and sickened by the decline of fiscal
responsibility and adherence to the law that are now the norm.

Poor reporting, and worse, a serious defamation of people deserving more from a once-noble
newspaper, will result in its slow decline, which mirrors how the patriot groups feel about the
nation as a whole.